Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr.

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. 1913-2006

Former President Gerald R. Ford, who was thrust into the presidency in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal but who lost his own bid for election after pardoning President Richard M. Nixon, has died, according to a statement issued by his wife, Betty Ford.

He was 93, making him the oldest former president, surpassing Ronald Reagan, who died in 2004, by just over a month.

Mr. Ford, who was the only person to lead the country without having been elected as president or vice president, occupied the White House for just 896 days. But they were pivotal days of national introspection, involving America's first definitive failure in a war and the first resignation of a president.

March 27, 2015, Friday

The Continental chic of Camelot in the ’60s, the gilded splendor of the Reagan-era ’80s — but what about a new take on the unique charms of Gerald and Betty Ford’s ’70s Southern California dreaming? Here’s looking at the most truly...

September 29, 2014, Monday

In the 1970s, the first polling partnership between two major national news organizations in the United States created a collaboration that became the blueprint for rival alliances between television networks and newspapers.